Austin Police and Texas State Troopers struggled to control crowds that gathered from around noon on Saturday and protested at the police headquarters on West 8th Street and I-35 frontage road.
Clad in riot gear, officers faced off against a crowd of hundreds or possibly thousands that grew throughout the afternoon and teemed back and forth onto the neighboring interstate.
The crowds chanted “No justice, no peace,” “Hands up, don’t shoot,” “Black lives matter,” and “I can’t breath” – a reference to the recent killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis. They also chanted the names of Floyd and Mike Ramos, an Austin man killed in a police shooting last month.
Though the demonstration began around APD headquarters, some groups broke off toward the downtown, while others shut down I-35 in both directions for over an hour from about 12:40 p.m. During a standoff on the highway, initially there was no violence but some protesters flung water at officers from water bottles.
Police corralled the protesters off the highway by 2:00 p.m., but crowds soon surged back onto it, according to our reporter on the scene and eyewitness accounts. Officers then used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse them again.
Some protesters directed their anger at the police, shouting insults, while others condemned the U.S. political system more broadly. A white man climbed up a traffic pole, used the vantage point to make obscene gestures at the police, before tying an American flag to the pole and lighting it on fire.
The police station itself was defaced with graffiti saying ‘ACAB,’ an acronym meaning, “All cops are bastards.” Protesters also left graffiti in their wake along downtown streets, including 8th Street, South Congress, and at the J.J. Pickle federal building.
Today’s protests in Austin followed small but intense protests during the previous night at the APD headquarters, as well as protests and incidences of looting in Dallas and other American cities.
Additional protests are scheduled to take place Sunday at the Texas Capitol. Saturday’s protest was organized by a group calling itself the ‘Mike Ramos Brigade.’ Volunteers handed out snacks, water, and sunscreen to protesters. Most protesters wore a mask to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Minneapolis prosecutors on Friday charged the officer involved in Floyd’s death with third-degree murder and manslaughter. According to the criminal complaint, the Minneapolis officer knelt on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, ignoring please from Floyd that he couldn’t breathe, and criticism from passersby. During the last 2 minutes and 53 seconds, Floyd was non-responsive.
In Austin, the district attorney hasn’t disclosed yet what charges might be brought against the officer who shot Mike Ramos, but she said Friday that a special Grand Jury would be impaneled.
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley wrote on social media as the protests Saturday were still underway, “Our officers are working to keep the community safe with compassion, professionalism and respect, as the demonstration continues downtown. We appreciate peaceful protest and will continue providing a safe space for the community to express emotions.”
